Co-occurrence of substance use behaviors in youth

Abstract

This Bulletin analyzes the prevalence and overlap of substance-related behaviors among youth, with comparisons by age group, gender, and race/ethnicity. It uses data from the first two waves of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97)-self-reports gathered in 1997 and 1998 from a nationally representative sample of youth ages 12-17. The data are from questions asking about drinking alco hol during the previous 30 days, using marijuana during the previous 30 days, and ever selling or helping to sell marijua na (pot, grass), hashish (hash) or other hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or LSD.

Risky Behaviors in Late Adolescence: Co-occurrence, Predictors, and Consequences

“…This study expands on research from another nationally representative survey, the National Longitudinal Survey of Health, which has advanced research on risky behavior profiles [2], risk and protective factors in multiple contexts [16], and long-term outcomes [17]. Relatively underutilized, NLSY97 collects information annually, offering unique opportunities for examining these research questions [18].…”

“…A four-item scale, based on adolescent-reported measures gathered in Rounds 1 (1997) through 5 (2001, adolescents ages [16][17][18], composed the parental monitoring construct. Chronbach's alpha for this scale ranged from 0.71-0.81.…”

“…Measures of risky behaviors were derived from self-report items in Round 6 (2002, adolescents ages [17][18][19], which assessed behaviors engaged in during past 30 days or during the past year. To compare the behaviors, the variables all had to be on the same metric.…”

“…Logistic and OLS regressions predicting young adult outcomes from health-risk class membership for young adults ages(18)(19)(20) Data Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort. O.R.…”

An empirical portrait of youthful offenders who sell drugs

“…There is some evidence that the participation of adolescents in drug dealing has increased over the last several decades (Little & Steinberg, 2006) and research has found that young people who sell drugs are also likely to be involved in other risky behaviors. In particular, studies have linked drug dealing with high levels of substance use (Li, Stanton, Feigelman, Black, & Romer, 1994;McCurley & Snyder, 2008), violence (Li, Stanton & Feigelman 1999;Fagan & Chin, 1990), gang participation (Moore, 1990), and other forms of delinquency (Altschuler & Brounstein, 1991;Dembo, Williams, Wothke, Schmeidler, Getreu, Berry, Wish & Christensen, 1990;Li et al, 1999). It is not surprising, then, that many young people who come in contact with the juvenile justice system have been involved in drug trafficking (Little & Steinberg, 2006;Centers & Weist, 1998;Inciardi, 1990;Dembo et al, 1990).…”